Monday, July 6, 2009

Damn, I just saw that my last post was in April of 2008..... YIKES!!!!

Better late than never right?

I doubt anyone has notice my leave of absence on this blog; but for those that have been checking up on this old blog, THANK YOU!

I apologize for the long and overdue update on my blog; but so much has happened throughout my animation journey in this industry since I last posted; that I seriously don't know where to start.

Well, let me start by saying that the animation journey is fun, amazing, creative, exhausting, and the hardest thing I have ever done but I love it!I have met some amazing and talented artists along the way which has always made me question my self as to how I got here or why they even hired me to begin with in the first place :P

I don’t want to go on about all the details throughout my journey but rather I want to give an understanding and hope to someone reading this out there who might want to go into this industry. This blog entry is more for those who are still working hard on trying to make in art; who go through periods of doubts and struggle as your working on your portfolio or demo reel. Trust me you are not alone in this struggle.

I can remember the first time I wanted to pursue an art/animation career. It was when I went to Disney World back when they were doing 2D in Florida. At that time, they had tours for people to come by and look at the artists working. Ever since then I wanted to do this and remember just thinking how much fun it would be to get paid to draw. It looked like the best job to me ever!

What I am about to say now is just my experience and everyone's experience is different so take it with a grain of salt. I just hope it is useful for someone out there thinking or starting to make steps to pursue a journey into the art/animation field.

This brings me to my first point:

WORK

DON’T BE LAZY! You have to work hard to get anything in this industry or in life. You must be able to put in the time in order to be seen and heard in this business. Be it modeling, animation, illustration, etc. Whatever it is you want to achieve you have to put in the time and effort. Nothing comes to you and no one will give you anything if you don’t work for it. Talent is a funny word in this industry or in general. I used it on this blog but really all talent is, is hard work, period! You might say to yourself, yeah but some people just get it. Yeah, I would say that is true, some people just get it faster than others; but at one point in their lives they didn’t get it and had to work hard for it. So if you want it, then go work for it.

DON'T PANIC

Easier said than done that is for sure. When you first start in this industry you will come to find out how many people are better than you and know more than you do, just don’t panic! I have come to find in my short time working in this industry that those around you are always willing to give you a helping hand. Also, keep in mind that they have all been there before and know how you feel. No matter how simple or complex a shot/task you get at a job; remember, there is always someone there to guide you and help you. Keep in mind, if you are hired for that job; they know you can do the work so don’t panic! Just do what you have been doing, be humble and also have an open mind to take other ideas and crits and you will be kicking ass in no time!

CRIT

You have to love it! It is the only way you will get better. If they keep on criting you it is because they really care and want you to succeed. They believe in you and want you to be the best you can be. Never ever take it personally. Anything I have worked on in this creative environment has been a mix of so many passionate people’s crit who take pride in their craft and want you to strive for better and succeed! So if someone crits you hard, thank them! They are helping you and making you better! Also be sure to listen to what they say, give it a chance and don’t dismiss it. Why? Because 99.9% of the time they are always correct and your work comes out so much better. I know it’s a bummer to do work all over again but trust me; it will be all worth it at the end.

My last point beats everything I said above. If you read this far, then next time you see me I owe you a drink or something :P

So, as I was saying, my last comment on this post is the best one of them all and it’s just about the dream.

DREAM

Keep dreaming! Let me say that one more time, KEEP DREAMING!!! I don’t mean this in a negative way like when you say to someone, I want to win the lottery and they say "Keep Dreaming". What I mean by this, is to keep dreaming of the goals you want to achieve in your career or in life. I do it all the time even when I feel down and out. I can’t emphasize this point enough. When you dream, DREAM BIG!!! You might surprise yourself where you might end up. No dream is impossible; I can say that for a fact now after achieving my goal of working at my dream studio on an amazing project with an amazing crew! From starting out as an Apprentice at Rhythm and Hues, to working at Disney Interactive; to eventually working at a place I only dreamed of working and visiting as a guest as I walked the hallways on a tour at Industrial Light and Magic/Lucasfilm (ILM).

Yup, after all the sacrifice and late nights, I finally made it! After all this time I had a brief moment of truly walking the hallways as an animator working for ILM/Lucasfilm moving big f’n robots on the screen :P I am so happy to say I worked with an amazingly passionate crew and staff at ILM/Lucasfilm on the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I made it to my dream studio and achieved what I set out to do so many years ago when I was back in the East coast just dreaming about it. It was a great run up there at ILM/Lucasfilm.

I have much to learn but I can say if you work hard and dream big and have the will to do what it is that you want, anything is possible!

So what now? Well, I am on vacation and looking for the next gig; but in the meantime I will still keep my options open to maybe some new opportunities; and keep working hard and dreaming about the next fun and exciting job that can come my way.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot why I had this blog to begin with, here are some fun and rough sketches. Enjoy!